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Five face drug charges after Hazleton incidents

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Five people were charged with drug-related offenses in Hazleton recently.

The two most recent arrests came Tuesday afternoon when officers served a search warrant on a city home that allegedly contained heroin-packaging material.

Though arrest papers don't indicate they are related, the time the search warrant was served was around the same time two unidentified men were taken into custody at gunpoint while walking with a dog on Wyoming Street. The men were ordered to get on the ground and taken into custody by Hazleton police and plain clothes officers near the corner of Spruce Alley and Wyoming Street around 1 p.m. Hazleton's Special Operations Group also participated in that incident. No information on that arrest has been released.

Hazleton police served the search warrant at 132 E. Green St., with assistance from the Special Operations Group and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, not far away from where the unidentified men were ordered to the ground.

Rickeem R. Singleton, 18, Bishopville, S.C., was seen carrying two bags with two other men, while exiting the East Green Street home that day, court papers state. Singleton placed both bags in the trunk of a vehicle and then the men got inside the car and drove away, court papers state. Officers later stopped Singleton in the vehicle and found five bundles of heroin on him stamped "Great Job," along with two cellphones. It was unclear what was in the bags.

No one was found inside the home when the search warrant was served, court papers state, but police found three brown cardboard boxes containing numerous baggies, one hand stamper that read "Great Job" and red ink, both used for stamping heroin bags.

Eshawn W. Harrell, 20, Hazleton, was seen leaving the home prior to the search warrant being executed and he was subsequently stopped at an unknown location and taken to the police station where he told police it was his home they searched.

Singleton was charged by city police with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver while Harrell was charged with use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

Both were arraigned Tuesday night by Magisterial District Judge Paul Roberts, Kingston, who set Singleton's bail at $10,000 and Harrell's at $2,500.

Other recent arrests include:

- Jose Pagan, 22, Hazleton, was also arrested Tuesday and charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance and criminal use of a communication facility by attorney general agents.

He was taken into custody after attorney general's agents and Hazleton police allegedly watched him sell about 15 grams of cocaine to a person inside a vehicle at 700 W. Broad St., court papers state. Police approached the vehicle and took Pagan into custody. Robert arraigned him Tuesday and set bail at $25,000.

- Yovanne Almonte Gutierrez, 22, Hazleton, was charged by the attorney general's office with three counts of delivery of a controlled substance, one corresponding conspiracy count and two counts of criminal use of a communication facility.

Arrest papers state, Gutierrez was selling heroin in Hazleton in October. He was taken into custody during the last transaction on Nov. 26, in the area of First and Peace streets as he began to hand a bundle of heroin to a customer, court papers state. Officers recovered 10 packets of alleged heroin on him and, upon searching an apartment he was seen inside at 818 W. First St., found $835 in cash and a brown box with 200 clear packets containing alleged heroin, court papers state.

He was arraigned Nov. 26 by Magisterial District Judge James Dixon, Hazle Township, who set bail at $50,000.

- Pedro R. Rosso, 48, Hazleton, was charged by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General with two counts each of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and criminal use of a communication facility.

Arrest papers state members of the attorney general's Bureau of Narcotics Investigation found out Rosso sold two bricks - 50 packets in each - of heroin to someone Monday and arrested him that day.

Upon his arrest, facilitated by assistance from Hazleton police, Rosso allowed agents to search his home at 750 Peace St., and his vehicle, which turned up an additional three bricks - or 150 packets - of heroin, court papers state. He was arraigned Monday by Magisterial District Judge Joseph A. Halesey, Wilkes-Barre, who set bail at $150,000.

All of those arrested await preliminary hearings before Magisterial District Judge Joseph Zola, Hazleton, scheduled for Dec. 11 at 10:30 a.m.

achristman@standardspeaker.com

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